Jinah Jang's Biography

Jinah Jang,
Assistant Professor,
Pohang University Of Science And Technology

Dr. Jinah Jang received her BS in Mechanical Design and Automation Engineering at Seoul National University of Technology (2010), PhD in Division of Integrative Biosciences and Biotechnology at POSTECH (2015), and worked as postdoctoral fellow in Department of Mechanical Engineering at POSTECH (2015-2016) and Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine/Department of Pathology and Bioengineering at University of Washington (2016-2017). She has joined the POSTECH in the spring of 2017 as an assistant professor in the Creative IT Engineering. Her research interest lies on the building the functional human tissues from stem cells via the 3D bioprinting technology and printable biomaterials. The fundamental technologies of our research theme includes biofabrication, biomaterials, stem cell engineering, and translational medicine. The successful achievements may lead towards clinical applications for providing advanced therapeutic methods, understanding disease mechanism and engineering micro-tissue models.

Bioprinting and Stem Cells for Engineering Human Tissues

Engineered tissues with intrinsic geometry and appropriate cellular organization can produce high functional outcomes. Although the use of various micro-fabrication technologies for recapitulating tissue constructs has received considerable attention, the technical and operational capabilities in resembling native 3D tissue architecture remain to be overcome. In this sense, 3D printing technology is considered a useful technology with which to facilitate the construction of biomaterials and cells in desired organizations and shapes that have physiologically relevant geometry, complexity, and micro-environmental cues. The selection of biomaterial is the most critical part in this technology; yet, their cellular affinity has rarely been considered in the context of cell printing logistics. In this talk, I will introduce an advanced bioink, which made up with decellularized tissue extracellular matrix (dECM). The material is capable of providing an optimized microenvironment conducive to the growth and function of 3D engineered tissues. As a translational application, we demonstrated the therapeutic efficacy of stem cell-laden 3D engineered tissues, which can deliver cardiac stem cells with higher biological activity for the treatment of ischemic diseases.